Rose blinked out from the rather large arm chair to which she had been led, observing with some humor as Mad Baggins and Sam Hare sat bickering over who had got watch gears in the butter while the Doorgollum slumbered ever on between them, murmuring happily into his toast.
'Why do you have so many tea things set out if it's just the three of you?'
Mad Baggins quit banging his pocket watch against the table. 'Well, as you can see it's rather crowded here already, and we have to have enough incase Unexpected Guests were to arrive at my unbirthday party.'
'Why, I've never heard of an unbirthday party!' she exclaimed.
'Birthdaysss, my love!' grumbled the Doorgollum and Mad Baggins unapologetically pushed his face further into the jam.
Sam Hare offered her a bit of plate served on a slice of marmalade roll. Baggins removed a large golden ring from his pocket, dunked it into his tea and bit into it, starting to nibble on the teacup once he was finished.
'Why of course you have! You've only got one birthday, after all, and what a nuisance it is to give away all those things! You need 364 unbirthdays to get them all back before you give them out again!'
'That's preposterous!' she exclaimed. 'The most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Why would you want back the things you had just got rid of?'
Mad Baggins only sniffed at her and replied, 'Why is a raven like a writing desk?'
The Doorgollum twitched. 'We don't likesss riddleses, do we presciousss? Nasssty nasssty gameses!' Sam Hare ceased to pretend to be civil to him and attempted to stuff him into a teapot, and when that didn't work he settled on using him as a cushion instead.
'What an odd tea party,' Rose thought to herself, and continued to munch happily on her marmalade roll, watching the over large hat slide slowly over Mad Baggins's dark curls.
~